Shedding light on our local history

The Goodridge Historical Society was started back in 1978 by Lynn and Norma Hanson. Their hard work set a foundation for us to preserve and obtain our local history through pictures and buildings. “If it wasn’t for them, these buildings wouldn’t be here,” Margie explained to me as we walked into The Brown House, one of the original buildings that was built in Goodridge around the late 30’s that the Historical Society has restored. 

There are currently 10 active members in the Historical Society and a number of others who volunteer and make donations. They also have an executive board with Margie Coan as President, Marie Adams as Secretary and Josh Tharaldson as Treasurer.

To date, the Historical Society has renovated and restored up to 8 buildings, including The Settlers Building, The Woodrow School House, and The Country Store Museum! Margie told me her favorite buildings by far are The Woodrow School House and the 1915 Goodridge Train Depot. She says she loves the atmosphere in those buildings.

The Goodridge Historical Society has put on a number of great fundraisers throughout the years such as dinner theaters, bake sales, car and tractor shows and parades. They also open their doors for special events. “We like to keep the historical buildings open for things such as Memorial Day and the 4th of July,” Margie told me. She says, “This year we were also open from 12-4pm for the Goodridge Freedom Festival.” In preparation for the festival, Margie says the Historical Society worked to get the buildings in tip top shape by cleaning them and decorating them for the whole community to enjoy. And the community sure did enjoy the buildings last weekend! People were filing in and out of buildings all day at The Freedom Festival last Saturday. 

In closing, I would just like to recognize all of our local Historical Societies for the work they put into preserving our area’s history.